manuchampions (139), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| 3.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 14/20 | Nov 13, 2009 12oz bottle 2007 vintage. Fairly subdued nose for a barley wine, hints of caramel but not much else. Didn’t get the sherry at all. Pours a chestnut brown with little head that dissipates to a small ring in the glass very quickly. Palate is slightly sweet with notes of butterscotch and treacle. Some hop punch at the end, lingers nicely but not as complex as others. Alcohol is very well hidden. Pleasing but not a knockout. mabel (2626), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 8/10 | 3/5 | 16/20 | Oct 30, 2009 [2505-20090930] Bottle. Bitter lemon rinds and mild spruce resin aroma. Clear, dark red amber body with a quick foamy yellow head. Boozy malt grains flavour has a long sweet malt finish. Medium-full body. Quite boozy, a big beer, but has nice balance.
(Vintage 2008; from Premier Gourmet) Oddefellowe (66), Tampa, Florida, USA
| 3.3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 4/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 15/20 | Oct 29, 2009 This monster ale was born in 2006. Really weak aroma of a small amount of malt poking through. Mellow hops and slight caramel notes resounded within the increasingly complex malt basis. Slowly became fruity towards the end, but not too sweet. The alcohol was tucked away nicely. Enjoyable. McGarnigle (320), Rochester, New York, USA
| 3.4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 5/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 12/20 | Oct 23, 2009 I thought I was buying a bottle of Monster Energy Drink; it’s so easy to confuse. Someone should do something about that. 2008 vintage. Looks gorgeous, clear amber-red. Syrupy, low fizz. Not a big hop barleywine, though I can taste the cascades at the end. Sweet malts, fruity, very faint charred element. Slight alcohol burn. Doesn’t entirely come together. zvikar (436), Tel-Aviv, Israel
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 5/5 | 15/20 | Oct 15, 2009 @Freaktoberfest 2007 bottle, pours stunning ruby with a medium off-white head, aroma of caramel, lightly smoked, pulses of sweetness, delcious flavors like butterscotch, toffee, caramel, vanilla and tones of roasted malt. Finishes with cherry liqour and balanced bitterness. Complex and mature. Great jesperhammer (353), Copenhagen, Denmark
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Oct 11, 2009 10-OCT-2009, Bottle @home.
Dated best before 01.01.2009.
Light brown, clear, low head.
Very vinouos nose, with ripe fruits - plums. mostly malty, and not overly hoppy. No way near as alcoholic as I remember the fresh version, and I also remember a bitterness in the fresh version that I cannot find here. All in all a very fine barley wine in this stage of its life. Snojerk321 (2028), San Diego, California, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Oct 4, 2009 2008 bottle. Nice deep copper color with little to no head. Aroma is sweet and boozy. Cherry & Apricot fruit tones, cotton candy. Flavor carries dark cherry cough syrup (slightly medicinal though not much) backed by smokey malt. Alc. comes through strong yet smooth in the finish. KyotoLefty (1501), Kyoto, Japan
| 3.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Oct 2, 2009 Bottle.
Big aroma of hops and burning alcohol, cherries. Flavor of caramel, some chocolate, dried dark fruits, cherry, raisins, lots of hops. Well integrated flavor. Well put-together barley wine, though not quite one of the bests.
|